LG formally announced its heavily leaked G3 handset today, and we’ve spent some time getting familiar with the latest superphone to hit the streets.

LG’s G3 handset stands out in a couple of key areas, but it’s impossible to look at this phone and not be impressed by the screen. Indeed, that’s kind of the point of cramming in a Quad-HD display into a 5.5 inch screen. What you end up with is a 538ppi (pixels per inch) display.

To give that some context, the iPhone 5’s display screen weighs in at 326ppi. With the right content, this is a screen that could look exceptionally good, although possibly to a level that might be overkill.

Under the impressive display sits a 2.5Ghz Quad-Core processor running on Android 4.4.2 with 2GB of RAM. On first examination it seems relatively swift, and LG appears to have listened to criticism that its previous hero handsets were cluttered with too many applications. The G3 feels a lot like a Nexus device, in that its Android layout is relatively clean and uncluttered.

The integrated 13MP rear camera, at least at first glance and with only a limited quantity of low light testing seems quite solid as well. It’s optically stabilised and uses a small invisible optical beam on the back to deliver very quick focus efforts with a single tap of the screen. We’ve only been able to test it in isolation, but so far it appears to be a very solid contender in the busy and cramped mobile photography space.

LG’s pitch for the G3 revolves around the phrase “Simple Is The New Smart”, and with that in mind it’s only got a limited number of homescreen options available. Like the HTC One M8, there’s a single screen taken up with large screen apps. In LG’s case, that’s for a tips application and a health tracking application. The idea is that rather than present a cluttered phone, they’ve gone for a simple set of features with largely round icons rather than the standard Android squares.

The G3 supports both a removable battery — 3000mAh standard — and removable microSD storage by popping the rear case off the phone. That rear case also incorporates a Qi wireless charging facility. Qi’s a standard for wireless charging, and while LG will offer a small companion charger, any Qi-compatible gear should work with the G3. To date, Nokia’s been the fiercest proponent of Qi charging in Australia, although phones from Samsung have also been able to incorporate first and third party Qi cards.

LG’s also offering an optional “QuickCircle” case. Although case is perhaps the wrong word, because instead of wrapping around the front and back of the phone, the QuickCircle case instead replaces the entire back, while still supporting Qi charging, and forms a slender front cover with a circular cutout in it. When placed on the G3 it by default shows a clock face, although you can swipe to access your choice of up to six preset applications such as the rear camera, music or text messaging applications. It’s expected to cost around $60 when it’s available.

LG representatives told News Corp Australia that it expects the LG G3 to be on sale either directly or through all three primary Australian carriers on contract from the first week of August with an expected RRP of around $799. While the phone ships in gold, burgundy red and white, it’s expected that the Australian offering will primarily be of the black variant, with a single as-yet-undisclosed carrier also set to offer the white version.

LG G3

FIVE WAYS THE LG G3 MIGHT BEAT THE IPHONE

Screen resolutionThe LG G3 features a 5.5 inch (538 pixels per inch) display. That’s insanely high resolution, although whether those extra pixels will actually matter remains to be seen.

”Laser guided” 13MP optically stable camera

The iPhone 5s’ camera is exceptionally good — but then so are cameras on competing smartphones such as the Lumia 1020 or HTC One M8. The G3 features optical image stabilisation (similar to the 1020) as well as “Laser Auto Focus”. That probably means it’s very quick, rather than also doubling as a lightsaber, though.

Button layout

A bit of a personal taste issue this one. LG looks to be replicating the unusual button layout first seen on the LG G2 and then later on the curvy G Flex phone, where the power and volume buttons are found on the back of the phone. LG’s claim is that this makes even a larger phone — and a 5.5 inch display phone isn’t small — easier to use with one hand. With rumours circling that Apple may shortly release a larger screened iPhone 6, it’ll be interesting to see how and if Apple solves this particular problem.

Expandable storage

Not unique to the G3 to be certain, but to supplement its 16GB of on-board storage, it’ll take a MicroSD storage card of up to 128GB. We’d love to see expandable storage on an iPhone, but we’re not holding our breath.

Battery life

All that camera power — and all that screen resolution — needs a solid battery pack. So the 3000mAh battery will keep it running for long periods.

*Alex Kidman travelled to Singapore and the LG G3 launch as a guest of LG.

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